A German survey and modeling effort suggests that consumers are more concerned about charging time than absolute charger availability
Germany
Consumers’ evaluation of public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles
Summary Information
The provisioning of public electric charging infrastructure is one of the primary strategies public authorities are using to encourage voluntary uptake of electric vehicles. Public authorities provision this public charging infrastructure under the assumption that chargers reduce driver’s "range anxiety" and make it easier to operate electric vehicles.
A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Karlsruhe, Germany wanted to know what aspects of public charging infrastructure drivers care the most about. To do this, the team first surveyed 1003 regular drivers in Germany. The team asked respondents basic demographic questions and then asked them a series of stated preference questions about electric charging infrastructure. Using the survey results, the team constructed several different statistical models to better understand consumer preference for different types of charging infrastructure.
Findings
- Charging duration was the attribute most valued by respondents
- Density of charging stations was less highly valued by respondents
- Drivers indicated preference for quality of charging stations over quantity (e.g. faster charging systems over more, but slower charging stations)
